Note: Besnyő focused on social realism and documentary record. She was born in Hungary, but relocated to Berlin in ca.1930, and was active for the majority of her life in the Netherlands, particularly Amsterdam, where she lived from 1932 until her death. She was married to the filmmaker John Fernhout, and later to Wim Brusse, under whose name her published work was credited from 1941-1944 due to her Jewish ancestry.